Bank of Scotland: UK Permanent Pay Accelerates to Record High

UK starting salaries jumped to a record high in June as employers struggled to find the staff they needed, according to the Bank of Scotland.

Edinburgh based lender explained that pay for permanent jobs rose at its fastest rate since the monthly report began in 2003.

But staff availability dropped to a record low, pushing wages up.

The bank's index, which was compiled by Markit and questioned more than 100 recruitment and employment consultants, found that permanent salary inflation hit 66.2 in June, up from 63.9 the month before.

A reading more than 50 signals a higher rate of acceleration of permanent pay than the month before.

The research also revealed that hourly pay rates for temporary workers also increased to 59.7 in June, up from 57.2 the month before.

"The number of candidates available for both permanent and temporary jobs fell, accompanied by a record rise in starting salaries," said Donald MacRae, the chief economist of the Bank of Scotland.

Meanwhile, staff availability for permanent jobs dropped to 28.9 in June, down from 34.9 in May as demand for long-term employees increased to 66.6 over the same period – up from 66.4 the month before.

The figures comes after the Office for National Statistics said that total pay growth, which includes bonuses, slowed sharply to 0.3% in the three months to May.

The research body also found that regular pay, excluding bonuses, grew by 0.7%.

These readings are far below Consumer Price Index inflation, which jumped in June to 1.9%, meaning the real-terms decline in wages has accelerated.